Refugees Cautious On New Rules

Three recent changes in immigration policy, including establishment of a temporary refugee program, are both pleasing and puzzling Salvadorans and Guatemalans in Chicago.

The policy changes are a result of a recent federal court settlement, a new immigration law and revised guidelines in the way asylum is granted to immigrants who fear persecution at home and seek haven here.

But Juan Ramirez, an unemployed Salvadoran who lives on the North Side, said he will probably not apply for temporary refugee status offered under the Immigration Act of 1990.

Though the program will allow him to live and work here legally for 18 months, Ramirez is worried that, at the end of the period, he could be deported.

But Salvadoran Angel Campos (not his real name) thinks the risk is worth taking. A shipping clerk from the North Side, Campos, 26, said he will apply for the temporary refugee program and then for political asylum under the new regulations.

Maria Garcia, 43, a Guatemalan who lives in Blue Island, was denied political asylum about three years ago. But as a result of a recent federal court settlement, she plans to reapply.

These immigrants are among the hundreds of thousands of Salvadoran and Guatemalans nationwide who must soon decide how to respond to three changes in refugee policy recently enacted by the federal government:

- The Justice Department settled a class-action lawsuit last month, agreeing to cease deportation of all Salvadoran and Guatemalans and to reconsider their previously denied claims for political asylum.

- Last November, President Bush signed the Immigration Act of 1990, which grants refugee status until July 1992 to thousands of Salvadorans.

- In October, the Immigration and Naturalization Service began implementing new asylum regulations that established a corps of about 100 specially trained asylum officers, including five in Chicago, and eases the standards for proving asylum cases.

``On paper, undoubtedly it`s all very good news for people who have already applied for asylum either under deportation proceedings or who voluntarily applied,`` said Susan Gzesh, a Chicago attorney with the National Lawyers Guild.

``But people who have never been in contact with the INS, they will have to weigh the risks`` of possible future deportation, she said.

Roy Petty, director of the Midwest Immigrant Rights Center, estimates that as many as 30,000 Salvadorans and about 40,000 Guatemalans live in the Chicago area.

Campos, who has never been arrested by immigration authorities, said he is willing to take the chance. ``If you don`t have papers, you run the risk that they will deport you,`` he said. ``At least for 18 months, you are safe.``

A.D. Moyer, Chicago district director of the INS, encouraged immigrants to apply for the temporary refugee program because it will give them working papers.

``Be here legally and get the proper work authorization,`` he said.

``Step out of the shadows.``

Under the new law, Salvadorans who can prove their nationality and continuous residence in this country since September 19, 1990, and who have not been convicted of a felony or of two misdemeanors can apply for the next six months for what is being called ``temporary protected status.``

As part of the federal court settlement, Salvadorans can apply for political asylum at the end of this temporary refugee program under the new asylum regulations.

Under the revamped system, asylum officers now have access to reports prepared by a wide spectrum of human rights groups, and the U.S. State Department will not be required to issue an opinion.

Campos, like other Salvadorans is planning to reap the benefits of all three new policies, a move that will make permanent or at least extend his legal stay here. Currently, a combination political asylum-deportation case can wend its way through the courts for up to five years.

Guatemalans, however are only entitled to apply or re-apply for political asylum under the court settlement. All Guatemalans who are not felons and have been in the United States since October 1, 1990 must register in the six-month period beginning July 1, 1991.